The present invention relates to a system for storing and feeding propellant charges that are intended to be inserted into the chamber of the barrel of a medium- or large-caliber weapon of an armored vehicle such as a tank for example, of the type having a storage part including a magazine and a feed part including a device for transferring the charges from the magazine to a loading carrier.
In general, several types of munitions are encountered, including those having a projectile and a propellant charge that are inserted in succession into the chamber of the barrel. For some of these munitions, the propellant charge includes a combustible envelope, of cylindrical shape and constant length, which contains bags of propellant powder in a number that varies according to the firing conditions envisaged and the type of projectile to be fired.
Such charges are stored in a magazine from which they are removed one by one to be routed to the barrel chamber. These removal and routing operations can be manual or executed by a semi-automatic or automatic operating transfer device.
In the case of an armored vehicle such as a tank, the charge storage magazine is generally built into the turret, which necessarily limits its size in view of the small space available inside a turret.